July June 22 - July 21: Cancer

The Cancer myth is just a footnote in the story of Herakles’ twelve labours. For his second task, he had to slay the Lernaean Hydra, the monster that guarded one of the entrances of the underworld, lake Lerna. For each of her nine heads that Herakles chopped off, two more grew, so he had to cauterize each stump with a torch. To distract him at this task, supreme goddess Hera, always her jealous self, had sent a giant crab – or was it a lobster? Herakles wasn’t impressed though, and just crushed it under his feet, much to Hera’s dismay. As an hommage, and a warning, she placed the crustacean in the sky. Like a crab, a Cancer holds their secrets under their hard, protective shell. They hide their vulnerability, and build a cosy fortress for themselves. They are compassionate though, and their emotional intelligence and artistic flair make them natural caregivers, although sometimes a bit controlling. But when trust is built, and they’re in a relationship that offers balance and stability, a Cancer will open up and blossom.

Herakles/Hercules with the Hydra and the Crab, Lekythos,

Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

A Crab on a Shield, Amphora, British Museum, London, UK